European tech startup awards ceremony The Europas is back and set to be more inclusive than ever, with new regional and country-specific awards.

As a European company, The Next Web has always had a place in its heart for the continent’s diverse startup culture, so it’s great to see that The Europas is gearing up for a bigger and better event in 2013.

The event will celebrate the hottest startups from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and previous winners have included SoundCloud, Spotify and Rovio. In order to better reflect the broad scope of startup culture across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a number of new awards are being introduced to recognise the best new tech companies in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia and the Middle East.

The Europas were previously run by Mike Butcher of TechCrunch, but for the latest edition, Paddy Cosgrave and the team behind the Dublin Web Summit have come on board to collaborate with Butcher. Until now, the Europas ceremony was held in London every year, but now it will move to a different city each time. Berlin is first in line, with the 2013 event taking place at the city’s Postbahnhof venue.

The Europas is now taking submissions from startups who are less than three years old and have raised under three million euros to date. A judging panel will filter through the entries. The full panel is yet to be announced, but will include US and European entrepreneurs, leading VCs and members of the international press. The Next Web will be represented by me and Robin Wauters.

So, if you’re a startup that fits the bill, fill in your application and you could be taking the glory in Berlin on 22 January 2013. If you’re not eligible but want to see a particular startup win, you can nominate them, too.